We are on the same boat...

As the swine flu (H1N1) runs rampant in Mexico, and is ready to invade Taiwan anytime in the future, nothing is more appropriate than to present the following lyric to our readers. The title of this song is called, "We are on the same boat." This song came from a CD, "Taiwan's songs" sold at a 2-28 concert in Taipei.


咱攏坐著同隻船 We are all in the same boat.

(台)太平洋有一隻船 There is a boat in the Pacific ocean.

(華)載著二千三百萬的人 The boat is carrying 23 million people.

(台)勤儉打拼守本分 Those people are hard-work, frugal and self-reliant.

(華)我們在這生根 We grow our roots here.

(台)失去方向的時袸 At time when we lost the direction,

(華)船上二千三百萬的人 the 23 million people on the boat,

(台)無分南北甲群族 despite our origins of south and north, despite our ethnic backgrounds,

(華)愛是我們的指南針 'Love' is our guiding compass.

(台)咱攏坐著同隻船 We are boarding on the same boat,

(華)在茫茫大海求生存 striving to survive in this vast ocean,

(台)置風雨中結緣份 we are making friends together in this survival struggling experiences.

(華)誰多不能把我們分 No one can separate us.

(台)咱攏坐著同隻船 We are on the same boat.

(華)要同舟共濟心感恩 We need to work together with gratitude,

(台)為一代代的子孫 for our future generation,

(華)誰也不能讓它沉淪 we cannot allow this boat to sink

(台)這隻名叫台灣的船 The name of this boat is called Taiwan.

How many god and goddess in a typical Taiwanese folk religion temple?

Back in February when I was visiting Nan-Joung 南庄 of the Miao-Li 苗栗 county with Meeilei's brother, Jau-Fu, I had a conversation with a Hakka driver (he drove us from Nan-Joung 南庄 to Fong-Lai 蓬筙 and from Fong-Lai 蓬筙 to Nan-Joung 南庄.). Here was our short conversation.

"How are Haaka's temples different from those of Hok-lok?", I asked.

"Well, the temples should look the same. But the god and the goddess we Hakka worship are different from those of Hok-Lok.", answered the driver.

"Do Hakka worship Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess?"

"No, the Hakka here do not worship Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess."

Out of curiosity, I did some research on Taiwanese folk religion temples. I also went into a Hakka temple, Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮, at Nan-Joung 南庄 to write down the god and goddess in the temple.

Since Taiwanese folk religion is a mixture of both Buddhism and Taoism, Taiwanese temples also have two different kinds: the Buddhist type is called Shu 寺; while the Taoist type is called Kon 宮. The temple that I visited at Nan-Joung 南庄 is called Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮. Since it is called 'Kon' 宮, it is a Taoist temple.

How many god and goddess at Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮? There are fifteen. On the top, there are three: Blessing Heavenly god or 賜福天官, Forgiving Earth god or 頳罪 地官, Turning-Around-Fate Water god, or 解厄水官. Below these three Heavenly, Earth, and Water gods, there are three more: the Supreme Emperor, or 玊皇大帝, Kwan-Sei-Ing, or 觀世音, and the Sun Star, or 太陽星. There are nine other gods below them. Among them are Confucius, the Agricultural god, or 神農, the Literary god, or 文昌公, Heavenly Divine Mother, or 天上聖母, goddess for mothers, or 註生娘娘. Of course there is Tou-Ti-Kon 土地公, or the Earth god who is the most favor god of Taiwanese.

Here are some interesting points. First, for Hok-Lok's temples, the Supreme Emperor 玊皇大帝 usually rank the first. At Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮 of the Hakka temple, the Supreme Emperor 朝天宮ranks the second. Second, you may notice that Heavenly Divine Mother, or 天上聖母 is also among the list. Actually, the Heavenly Divine Mother, or 天上聖母 is Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess that is another Taiwanese favor goddess. Indeed, the Hakka do worship Ma-Zu. The driver was wrong. To make sure this is indeed the case, I asked similar question to a Hakka friend at Six-Twei 六堆 of Ping-Tong County a month ago. That Hakka friend told me that Hakka at Ping-Tong county do worship Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess.

Why so many god and goddess in a given temple? My guess is that different god or goddess may offer different needs to each individual. For example, an expecting mother may have a more urgent needs to get the blessing from the goddess for mothers, or 註生娘娘 than from the teaching of Confucius.

How about a person just makes a worship and offer to the rank # 1 god, in this case is Blessing Heavenly god or 賜福天官 and forgets about others? That would not do it. The situation is similar to what happen when you are working for a company. Even the president of the company is good to you, your life will still be miserable if your immediate boss gives you a hard time. For a worshiper, he needs to make sure that all god and goddess are pleasing with your worship and offering.

Here comes how a temple manager makes services to the worshipers. If a worshiper donates NT $500, the manager will pray and offer for you to make every god and goddess happy.

The Presbyterian Church had extended helping hands...

On April 16, I had reported the second 2-28 event of Taiwan which had happened in 1980 when Chiang Jin-Kuo was the ROC (Republic of China, Taiwan) President. An intruder came to Lin Yi Hsung's residence(林義雄) on Feb 28, 1980 and murdered Lin's mother and two daughters. Lin's eldest daughter, Lin Huen-Chun (Judy Lin) 林奐均, survived the stabbing and was miraculously rescued in the hospital (She had been stabbed 6-times.). Lin's wife, Fang Su-Ming 方素敏, was then visiting Lin at the jail. She also escaped the murder.

After the murder, Lin's wife and daughter was facing great financial distress with husband-father 林義雄 still locked up in the jail and three deaths in the family. The Presbyterian church in Taiwan extended helping hands to Lin's family by purchasing the house in which the intruder had committed shocking murder to Lin's family. The house was then converted into the Taiwan Yi-Kuan Presbyterian Church 台灣基督長老教會義光教會 in Taipei. Every year, Yi-Kuan church has a memorial service at 9:00 AM on February 28. After the service, the congregation members will drive to grave sites in Yi-Lan 宜蘭 for another memorial service.

Lin Huen-Chun(July Lin) later came to the United States for advanced degree education. She earned an English educational degree from the Indiana University. In 1998, Lin Huen-Chun(Judy Lin) was married to Joel Linton who is also a minister. The Lintons have three daughters : Faith（淳惠）、Charis（慈晅）and Ashlyn（恬昕). The Lintons are now residing in Taipei. From the following site, you can read about Fan-Jun's testimony. http://www.judylinton.com/judytest.html

Some one in the past had asked me why I had become a Presbyterian? The story of Yi-Kwan Church answers part of the question. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was the only religion group that had stood-up to Komingtan (Chinese Nationalist Party) and had spoken for Taiwanese cause during the White Terror Era.

Some day, we shall change the name of Chia-Yi..

A few years ago when a movie, "Brave-Heart" was on the show, I clearly remember the beginning narrative of the movie. The narrative said that although the English had portrayed William Wallace as a liar, the Scottish regards Wallace as their hero. "History has been often written by the conqueror", the narrative continued, "it is time to re-visit the history from another perspective..."
This narratives applies perfectly well to Taiwanese history because the story of Taiwan was often written by the Chinese who usually plays the colonial role over Taiwan. A few days ago, I had reported a story about the Lin Swan-Wun's 林爽文 rebellion in 1787. It was a typical Taiwanese peasants' struggle against the oppressing Ching's colonialism. In the past, the Chinese had portrayed Lin and his followers are 'bandits' and justified all the suppressing actions as 'rightful duties' 義舉. Today, Lin is no longer considered as a bandit in Taiwan. Some of the Taiwanese streets even had Swan-Wun's name on them. Yet, there are still few places that bear the scars of historical ignorance. One example is the name of Chia-Yi 嘉義 county and Chia-Yi city. Chia-Yi was then called Ju-Lo 諸羅 at Lin's time. After suppressing Lin Swan-Wun in 1788, the Ching changed the name from Ju-Lo 諸羅 to Chia-Yi 嘉義 to 'praise' for Ju-Lo residents' 'rightful acts' resisting Lin's advancing peasant army 「嘉」獎諸羅義民「義」舉. The name, Chia-Yi, was named from the perspective of the Ching; it is insulting to Taiwanese peasants struggle against the colonialism.
One of those days, we shall change the name of Chia-Yi because it is a rightful thing to do from our perspective.

To care is to live...

last Sunday (April 19, 2009), I made a faith witness to the senior group of the Wu-Feng Presbyterian Church. I told my senior church friends that probably, the toughest 'test' 試練 some of us would face in our life is that when a doctor tells us someday that we would have only 3-6 months to live. If some of us would have to take the 'test', what would we do? What should we do?

About 4 months ago, I had written a story about my tennis friend, Larry. Larry is a 40s young and energetic physician and a good tennis player. He was 'healthy' and was 'in very good physical shape' except when one day, his doctor told him that he had aggressive form of skin cancer and had only 6-month to live. He was tearful and didn't know what to do. His best surgeon friend, Josh, said nothing but gave him a big hug.

Last Friday I was at Jo-Ying and had a conversation with a friend at Formosa Plastics. He is about the same age as mine. He said that at 60s, his best philosophy is that 'he doesn't care to whatever is happening anymore.'. Is 'no care' a good strategy?

The Liberty Times of April 12, 2009 had a story on a grandma fighting cancer by making and selling 'the best rice paste 麻糬' at Ping-Tung city. Grandma Lee Li-Tsu 李麗珠 lost her husband 5 years ago. Soon, she was diagnosed as having 4th-stage ovary cancer. After consulting with a psychology doctor, she gained her strength making the best rice paste 麻糬 of the Ping-Tung City. Her daily routine starts at 2:00 AM when she begins to grind the rice and sells rice pastes at the market at 9:00 AM. She sells approximately 800 rice pastes everyday. She says the praise from her customers is more effective than the medicine she is taking for treating her ovary cancer. She says that since she has out-lived what her doctor had predicted for her, she lives everyday with gratitude. Every day is a gift; and she ought to do her best for every day she is still alive.

About two weeks ago, my student had lent me a book, "The Last Lecture--Really Achieving Your Childhood Dream". The professor who made the last lecture was Dr. Randy Pausch of Carnegie Melon University. An established computer science professor, Dr. Pausch was in his 40s, with perfect career and family. Yet, he was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of pancreatic cancer and the doctor had given him 3-6 months to live. He probably could retreat and had self-pity on himself. Yet, he delivered his last lecture on September 18, 2007. The Last Lecture had received a large amount of media coverage and had been viewed by more than 6 million people. Dr. Pausch died on July 25, 2008. His last lecture became a legacy of his life.

So, what shall we do, when we should face the 'test' 試練 someday? The best remedy my advice is to have a 'passion' to care. Whether we are one of the grand-pa or grand-ma that is good in making rice paste; or we are one of the professors that are good in delivering lectures, we all need have passion to do our best. With passion, and when we care for our passion and other people, we live with a legacy.

Dr. Chen has made friends with many young Taiwanese...

It is almost the end of April, 2009. I will go back to U.S. in less than 3 months. During the last 9 months, I had made many young Taiwanese friends and they will be part of my good memory. Here are the photos telling the story.

Top Photo: from top left: Dr. Shih, Dr. Chen of Chau-Yang University, me, and A-Hein (at front);

Middle photo: Dr. Chen with the research group of Dr. Shih of Chau-Yang University.

Lower photo: Dr. Chen with NCHU students at a small eatery party after the movie, Slum-dog.

Neither Taiwanese nor the Chinese emperors could sleep well...

The Chinese under the Ching dynasty ruled Taiwan for 212 years from 1683 to 1895. During this 212 years, Taiwanese lived a miserable life under the oppression of arrogant, less civilized, typically colonial and very corrupted Ching government officials. During this 212 years, there were at least 40 rebellions. Among them, the Lin Swan-Wen 林爽文 rebellion (1786-1788) had struggled against Ching's colonial rule for almost 2 years with at least 30,000 Taiwanese peasants participating in defending their right to live. To suppress Lin Swan-Wen's 林爽文 rebellion, the Ching government mobilized San-Hsi and Kan-Su province governor陝甘總督, Fu Kan-An 福康安, and and his army of San-Hsi and Kan-Su provinces; secretary of defense 參贊大臣, Hai-Nan Cha 海蘭察; Fu-Jen and Jei-Jiang province governor 閩浙總督, Chung-Chin 常青, and his army. Lin Swan-Wen was eventually defeated and the rebellion was suppressed. However, it was told that the Chinese emperor Chian-Long lost sleep during this rebellion period.

I visited the old battle field of this part of the history on April 18, 2009 with Professor Shi Yeng-Hong and her research group. The battle field is at Ju-San 竹山 township of the Nan-Tou county. Ju-San 竹山 literally translates as the mountain of bamboos. Yes, you can see the bamboos all over the place.

Photos show both the bamboos at Ju-San and Dr. Shih's research group at the memorial site of the battle field.

Million of Fire Flies

Professor Shih Yeng-Fong 石燕鳳 of Chau-Yang University was kind to invite me to join a field trip of her research group on April 18, 2009. In the evening at the Lu-Ku village of the Nan-Tou County, we saw million of fire flies. It was magnificent. The bottom photo shows Professor Shih (the person on the right) and her graduate students at Chau-Yang University.

By the way, where is Lu-Ku 鹿谷 ? It is east of Ju-San竹山, and southwest of Pu-Li 埔里. The name Lu-Ku, literally translated as 'deer canyon'. Sika deer, or the plum-flower-deer 梅花鹿 as Taiwanese call it, used to be abundant in Taiwan. Sika deer is now extinct and completely disappears in Taiwan.

North and South

When I was in Wisconsin, it is impossible to see the ocean. Wisconsin did have Lake Michigan. But, a lake is a lake; not an ocean.

Well, this is not the case of Taiwan. Taiwan is like a "whale" in the Pacific ocean. The two photos show the ocean seen from the tip of Ulenbi 鵝戀鼻 (south of Taiwan), and the ocean viewed from the tip of Yeliu 野柳 (north of Taiwan). The persons that having the photo (the lower photo) with me are Meeilei (middle one) and Jau-Fu (Meeilei's brother).

The top photo shows Dr. Chen in a hiking fatigue attire and a back-pack. That photo was taken at Ulenbi 鵝戀鼻. You may wonder how did I get there. Well, I walked from Kenting 墾丁 to Ulenbi 鵝戀鼻. The distance was about 10 Km. I walked in the early morning and the sun was not too hot. The road I walked was along the southern coastal line. With the ocean view and ocean breeze, it was great. In fact, it was one of my favor walks in recent years.

Who is Chiang Jin-Kuo?

In April, 2009, Ma Yin-Jou led ROC government officials and KMT to pay tributes on the 100th birthday of Chiang Jin-Kuo 蔣經國, the 6th and 7th President of ROC from 1978-1988. Who is Chiang Jin-Kuo? Does he deserve the tributes?

Grown up during the White Terror Era, one cannot ignore Chiang Jin-Kuo because he ran ROC's (ROC stands for Republic of China) intelligence, surveillance, and interrogation system in Taiwan the way Hitler ran SS in Germany and the way Stalin ran communism in Russia. If Taiwanese are not forgetful and ignorant, they should remember what happened to Lin Yi-Hsung's 林義雄 mother and two daughters in 1980 and to Professor Chen Wen-Chen 陳文成 of Carnegie-Melon University in 1981.

The bloody murder of Lin Yi-Hsung's 林義雄 mother and two daughters shocked Taiwanese community both in Taiwan and in oversea. On February 28 of 1980, intruders came to Lin Yi-Hsung's residence on Hsing-Yi Rd of Taipei City 台北市信義路 and committed shocking murders to Lin's whole family who were in the residence at the time. Lin's mother, Lin You-A-Mei, 林游阿­妹, was stabbed 13 times and died at the base of the stairs in the basement. Two twin daughters Lin Liang-Jun 林亮均 and Lin Ting-Jun 林亭均 were all died in one stab of each in the heart. Another daughter, Lin Fan-Jun 林奐 均 was stabbed 6 times but later was miraculously rescued in the hospital. Mr. Lin Yi-Hsung, a respected lawyer and political leader who was arrested for the Formosa Incidence 美麗島事件, was then locked-up at Hsing-Tein jail 新店 waiting for a trial of sedition. Lin's wife, Fan Su-Ming 方素敏 , was visiting Lin Yi-Hsung in the jail and was not in the residence. She escaped the murder on February 28. After the murder, the Kuo-Ming-Tah ostensibly conducted "investigation". After nearly 30 years, such "investigation" yields no results. But Taiwanese knew very well who was behind the murder. At the day of the murder, Chiang was the head of the Taiwan's intelligence, surveillance and interrogation machinery.

Nearly 18 months after the murder of Lin's family and on July 3, 1981, a body of a mathematical professor of Carneigie-Melon University but of Taiwanese heritage, Dr. Chen Wen-Chung 陳文成 was found in the campus of National Taiwan University. Taiwan's authority claimed that Dr. Chen committed suicide. Was that the true story?

Dr. Chen went back to Taiwan to visit his parent on July 1, 1981. He was immediately detained and questioned by the Taiwan's intelligence and interrogation office for his monetary contributions to the those people relevant to the Formosa Incidence in 1980. Chen's sister, Ms Chen Pau-Yu 陳寶月witnessed Chen's body and made the following reports: (1) Chen's neck had electric-shock marks. (2) All Chen's ten fingers had marked of needle piercing injury marks. (3)Chen's stomach showed signes of severe internal bleeding. Chen's liver, stomach, intestine had traces of poisoning.

How did Taiwan's intelligence and interrogation office in Taiwan knew about Dr. Chen made monetary contributions to people relevant to Formosa Incidence? Obviously, there were oversea agents of Taiwan's intelligence and interrogation office made reports to their home office in Taiwan. Chiang Jin Kuo was then the President of ROC, the head of the intelligence office.

So, who is Chiang Jin-Kuo? Why Ma Yin-Jou pays tributes to Chiang? It is very obvious to Taiwanese that both Chiang and Ma represent Chinese colonial authorities in Taiwan.

Is Taiwan a sweet potato or a whale?

Most Taiwanese are descendants of both Han-Chinese (father side) and aborigine-Taiwanese (mother side). Due to hundred years of political and cultural domination of Han-Chinese, the Chinese elite in Taiwan and the Chinese in PRC have tried every effort to convince Taiwanese to forget about our blood line of the aborigine Taiwanese.

Taiwan's map has been presented in the past like a sweet potato, locating just outside of the China mainland. That was a China-centered Taiwanese map. On the other hand, when the Dutch came to Taiwan in the 17th century, Taiwan map looked like a whale in the Pacific ocean (see the attached). Ocean is part of the life of the aborigine Taiwanese. Even for the Han-Chinese who sailed through Taiwan strait, ocean is also part of their blood. If you don't believe it, just to witness how the Taiwanese celebrate birthday of the goddess Ma-Zu 媽祖. Why goddess Ma-Zu 媽祖 is so respected in Taiwan ? Because Ma-Zu 媽祖 is a goddess who protects Taiwanese safe returning from the sea voyage.

Readers, if you are a Taiwanese, believe in ourselves: Taiwan is a whale, not a sweat potato.

Tainan's Provintia represents the rise and fall of Dutch colonial power in Taiwan

Few Taiwanese knows the name: Provintia; but they know the name Zeecando 赤崁樓 because today every Taiwanese call this fort in Tainan as the Zeecando fort. Its original name was Provintia. This fort facing Zeelandin (today's Anping Fort) across Taichiang Interior Sea 台江内诲 (see the attached map) in the 17th century was built by the Dutch after they suppressed Kuo Hwei-I's 郭懷一 rebellion in 1652. Kuo Hwei-I's rebellion was triggered by the Dutch's ruthless ruling and unfair tax system. In that rebellion, 4000-5000 Han-Taiwanese (about 1/4 of total Han-Taiwanese population) participated in the freedom struggle against the Dutch. The Dutch allied with Aborigine-Taiwanese and successfully suppressed Han-Taiwanese with superior weaponry and firing power.

In 1661, Koxinga 国姓爺 retook this fort and used this fort as a base attacking the Dutch defending the Zeelandin (Anping fort). After 9 months, the Dutch surrendered and with the surrender, the Dutch lost her colonial domination in Taiwan in 1662.

Did Dutch ever thought about re-taking Taiwan after 1662? Yes, they did. In 1664, Dutch allied with the Chinese (Ching dynasty) and attacked Keelung; but both the Chinese and the Dutch were successfully repelled by Taiwanese under Cheng-Chin's 鄭經 administration. After 1664, Dutch influence over Taiwan was reduced to only missionary work and nothing else. Well, I learned about this part of history only recently. How about you?

Regarding 台江内诲 or the Taichiang Interior Sea, it now completely disappears. You only see the high-rise building and land in today Tainan's landscape.

A Tainan's To-Fu delicacy takes a strange name...

What is this in the picture? It is called the coffin plate, 棺材板. Actually, it is a name of food, a Tainan's special delicacy. The outside of a square box is made of fried Tofu; inside the box is a paste made of eggs, starch and oyster. It is yammi- yammi, or O-Yi-shi (in Japanese) even the name of the food is disgusting.

Jamal was almost perfect; and Salim was more like a regular human being...

Jamal in the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" was almost flawless in character. He was compassionate to give shelter to Latika who just lost her parent and gave $100 to his blind begging friend Javed on a Bombay street. He was courageous to rescue Latika from a local gang. He was honest to give detective complete account of the story. However, he and his brother did cheat (pretending to be tourist guides) at a famous Indian museum to earn innocent American tourists' dollars.

Jamal's brother, Salim, on the other hand, was a complex character. On one hand, Salim was courageous not to follow Mr. Chi's direction to betray his brother. Salim also help Jamel to rescue Latika from Mr. Chi. At the end of the story, he helped Latika escape knowing in doing so, he could be killed by the gang. On the other hand, Salim was also selfish. He locked up his brother in the outhouse so that Jamal could not get the autograph from a famous movie star; he turned his back when Latika asked silently to come to the shelter with the boys (Later, he reluctantly allowed his brother inviting Latika to join them by pretending to be asleep.) The most ugly part in Salim was he forced his brother Jamal at a gun point to give up Latika and took Latika by force.

The complex characters in Salim are almost reflection of a real human being at different circumstances.

Jamal won 200 million rupees. But behind the winning, it was blood, sadness, and love...

I went to see the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" with 4 students of Chung-Hsing University on April 7, 2009. I was very moved by the miserable and sad stories behind the winning of 200 million rupees of Jamal. It will take several posting for me to re-tell this story in my own words.

The character Jamal Malik was an 18-old boy grew up in a slum in Bombay with his brother Salim. How he could possible know every answer of the questions asked by Kumar who was hosting a show, "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" For example, how could Jamal know that the portrait in the $100 US dollar bill is Benjamin Franklin? Jamal told the police that his blind friend, Javed told him. Javed was singing and begging on a Bombay's street. Jamal recognized Javed that Javed grew up together with Jamal, Salim (Jamal's brother), Latika (Jamal's friend) under the supervision of a local gang, Mr. Chi. Mr. Chi picked up orphans from Bombay's street and gave orphans food and shelter. Being a gang, Mr Chi also drove the orphans to beg on the street to make money for him. In the evening, he would teach the kids to sing. Do not think Mr. Chi a good guy because he was teaching kids to sing at night. Once the kid knew how to sing well, he made the kid blind because a blind singer-beggar would get more money for him on the street. (The scene of making the kid blind is too graphic to be described here in the post.) Javed was one of Mr. Chi's victims; both Jamal and Salim escaped Mr. Chi's control. Out of sympathy, Jamal gave Javed $100 dollar bill. Javed asked Jamal, "who is on the bill?". Jamal said he did not know the name but he described the person to Javed. Javed said that the portrait was Benjamin Franklin and was a $100 bill.

Where and how Jamal got this $100 bill and who is Latika? Those stories will be reported later if you are interested in reading more.

Wu-Feng Presbyterian chuch had 45 minutes of ancester's memorial service on the weekends of Chingming Festival Weekends.

What are the differences between the Presbyterian Church in the United States besides the language of the service? I am now reporting one major difference is the annual memorial services for the deceased members. The dates of the service are different; it is the All Saint Day in the United States while in Taiwan, it is on the Sunday of the Chingming Festival (清明, literally means clear and brighter) the Tomb-Sweeping Day which is on April 4. The other difference is the degree of elaboration of the celebration. In the States, it was about 5 minutes, with the somber bell-ring to show the respect to the deceased church members of the previous year. At Wu-Feng church, it was 45 minutes service for deceased church members for many generations.

Chingming Festival is a big holiday for Taiwanese, especially for Han 漢-Taiwanese. On this holiday, Han-Taiwanese of folk religion would sweep the tomb of ancestors, burn the incense, and place paper-silver-money (money used in the deceased world) on the tomb, and offer food and fruit to the ancestors. Han-Taiwanese Christians do not burn incense, do not offer deceased-world-money. They do the memorial service and offer a bow and flowers instead.

Taiwanese loves fire work

In the United States, fire work is allowed only on the US national day, or July 4. The police can fine a person lighting up a fire work illegally on the street.

In 2007, Meeilei and I were in Mexico. We both found that Mexican loves fire work much more than the Americans. Three days out of seven when we were in Mexico, Mexicans did spectacular fire works.

If you say the number of fire works in Mexico is three times as much as in the United States, then the number of fire works is Taiwan will be 5 times as much as those in Mexico; and would be 15 times as much as those in the United States. Taiwanese will find any occasion to celebrate with the fire works. Fire work on Lunar monthly first and Lunar monthly 15th day that are slated for gods' offering days. Lunar monthly 2nd day is slated for the Earth God, or Tu-Ti-Kon 土地公. Of course there are no violation of the law if you choose to celebrate Tu-Ti-Kon's 土地公offering day with the firework.

The biggest occasion for Taiwanese to celebrate with fire work is the month of goddess Ma-Ju's 媽祖 birthday (Lunar March 23). This year, hundred of thousands worshippers started their pilgrim journey from Ta-Jau township 大甲镇 of the Taichung county on March 23. The worshippers walked or biked with a whole journey of 323 km to Hsing-Kan 新港 of Yun-Lin 雲林County. On March 28 when I was in Chang-Hua, the pilgrim crowds were in Chang-Hua and in the evening, the whole Chang-Hua city became a fire work city; it was literally all night celebration: Forget about sleep. Mother would tell her kids that it is a celebration of Ma-Ju 媽祖; on this day, sleep can take a second priority.

Photo was download from a web site

http://blog.yam.com/meson/article/20103625 describing the celebration of Ma-Ju's 媽祖pilgrim at Ta-Ja township 大甲镇 in 2008.

I have friends come-over today; and it was very good...

I have lived at school's residence more than 6 months. Thing begin to accumulate at the place. Last weekend, when my brother, Wen-Kai 文楷, and my sister-in-law, 翠美, came over my living quarter, I felt a bit of embarrassment. I think it is a time to have a spring clean-up.

Then, I got an idea. Why don't I ask friends to come over my place? This will give me a strong motivation to clean-up the place. The strategy works very well. I mopped, wiped, and work all day long on Thursday to clean up the place. By the time this morning, the place is sparklingly clean. My residence is presentable.

My ki-kong's friends came over after their morning ki-kong's exercise practice. I greeted them with breads, milk, soy milk, fruits, peanuts, coffee and a big smile. We had wonderful time. This is a group that I had ki-kong's exercise every morning. I had good time with them all through the year.

Photo shows the group picture taken at my residence.